"Next, I will use all the strength I have accumulated as a token of my gratitude to you."
Shinji smiled as he tore off his torn shirt, revealing his inconspicuous but explosive upper body, as well-proportioned as a cheetah.
In an instant, everyone felt that the boy in front of them was different.
Although he had a terrible record of killing the twenty-seven ancestors, there was nothing special about him except his handsome appearance and slightly arrogant attitude. When they were not talking, everyone's eyes would focus on Elquet, Lorelaia or the female warrior, and subconsciously ignore the boy next to them.
Now, the boy is still the same boy, but the sense of presence that erupts from his body even overshadows those three women who have already surpassed common sense. He is like a terrifying prehistoric beast that wakes up from its slumber and shows its majesty.
That was the momentum that a strong man who killed the twenty-seven ancestors should have.
Feeling this momentum, the female warrior held the sword to her chest, showed the etiquette of an ancient warrior, and asked in a solemn voice:
"Young man, tell me your name. This is the honor a warrior deserves."
Shinji returned the greeting with the courtesy of a long weapon, but shook his head.
"I refuse because you did not give me your real name."
You treat me with the courtesy of a warrior, and I will treat you with the courtesy of a warrior. This is the ritual inherited from Scathach. On the other hand, since you concealed your real name, I will not follow the courtesy of a warrior to introduce myself.
If Shinji had said this before the battle, the female warrior would have regarded it as an insult to a real warrior and would have slashed at her without hesitation. However, in front of another warrior who was qualified to talk to her on an equal footing, she did not do so, which would have been an insult to herself and the other party.
The warrior woman hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Why do you think I am not Hephaestion?"
"King of Conquerors Iskandar led countless heroes, among whom there were seven who were the most famous and trusted by him. They were later called the 'Seven Attendants'. I once met the 'Seven Attendants', although we were a little far away and I couldn't match their names to the people one by one, but I can be sure that you are not among them because they are all men!"
Even if we put aside the script, Shinji can be sure that these seven people are the closest to Iskandar in the King's army, and what they wear is different from the surrounding soldiers. Who else could it be but the Seven Attendants
After hearing Shinji's answer, the female warrior was silent for a few seconds before replying, "I am not lying. Hephaestion is indeed my name."
"Until now—"
Halfway through his speech, Shinji suddenly thought of something and looked strange.
"Ah—are you actually a man, and you changed your gender when you appeared in this world? Wow, I've heard that Macedonia is bold—"
"No!" A trace of anger flashed in the female warrior's golden and silver eyes, "I didn't change my gender, and I haven't heard that a heroic spirit can change its gender."
"You are ignorant. There is a record of Leonardo da Vinci, a famous artist in history, appearing in the image of Mona Lisa. The reason seems to be that he thought it was the ultimate beauty and a body that matched his genius."
It was as if some important secret was heard—By a group of bystanders.
There are actually people like this? — The female warrior showed such an expression and denied it.
"I have never changed my gender, I have always been this way."
"I think I know who you are."
A voice rang out from the crowd of onlookers, and Weber stepped out.
"You are not Hephaestion. You may have used her name, but you are not him, at least not in the sense of a summon."
"So, who do you think I am?" The female servant's body trembled slightly. She had a cold face and asked in a gloomy voice.
"I once summoned Iskandar during the Holy Grail War. However, his appearance did not match the legendary Iskandar. The legendary Iskandar was short, but the one before me was a muscular man over two meters tall. Even if it might not have been like this when he was young, his hair and eyes were obviously vermilion, which was far from the legend. According to the literature, Iskandar's hair color was gold or black. His eyes were also described as one eye as deep as the night sky, and the other eye as a golden and silver demon pupil (Heia) reflecting the blue sky."
"...That's not it!!!" Gray, who followed Weber closely, gasped.
"Yes, that's the woman I'm talking about. You should be called Iskandar in the summoning, because that relic can't summon other Heroic Spirits. But because of the difference in the summoning class, a being similar to the real Iskandar was summoned. It's natural that she would appear beside the ancient royal family that is associated with assassination and war."
Waver stretched out his hand, pushed up his glasses, and pointed his finger at the female Servant.
"You are the afterimage of the king - the shadow warrior of Iskandar."
The term shadow warrior originated from Japan. In the Japanese Warring States Period, life was a matter of chance, and one could not be sure of the next day. However, the life of a lord was enough to affect the lives of his own people, so the lords looked for people with similar faces in various places to serve as their substitutes to ensure their own safety. Such substitutes for lords were called shadow warriors.
Of course, similar things have existed for a long time, from ancient times to the present, from east to west.
For example, the female version of Kenshin Uesugi and Kenshin’s sister Naoe Ai in a certain parallel world—ahem, it seems like something serious has been exposed, so cross it out and start over.
For example, the female version of Kenshin Uesugi in a certain parallel world and Kenshin's sister Aya Gozen, the two often switch places to play with each other - uh, this seems to have been exposed too.
Never mind, anyway, many famous people in history have shadow warriors, and many artistic creations were born from them.
Iskandar in the Type-Moon world also has such a shadow warrior, but it is not of his own will. Such a generous, magnanimous and straightforward king who lives more vividly than anyone else would never take the initiative to choose a shadow warrior to take the risk for himself.
Everything was arranged by Iskandar's mother, Olympias.
She was an extremely terrifying woman, an ambitious conspirator, an unfathomable witch, a temptress who had a lot in common with Morgan and Semiramis!
This woman had planned everything before marrying Philip II, the king of Macedonia. First, she asked Zeus, the king of gods in Greek mythology, who had an extremely chaotic lifestyle, for help through unknown means, and became pregnant with the son of God. This child was the conqueror king who later conquered all nations, Alexander III, Iskandar.
After becoming pregnant with Iskandar, Olympias used Zeus' name to build momentum. Before the child was born, she wanted to make the impression of the son of God, a natural king, deeply rooted in people's hearts. After the child was born, she began to teach him all kinds of imperial knowledge, in order to make him a king unparalleled in the world.
Not only that, Olympias also secretly prepared a left and right hand for Iskandar, and for this purpose she chose a pair of twins.
PS: List of the seven attendants: Aristonous, Lysimachus, Governor of Thrace, Peithon, Governor of Media, Leonnatus, Governor of Hellespont and Phrygia, Perdiccas, the companion commander of the cavalry and governor, Ptolemy, Governor of Egypt, Libya and Arabia, and Hephaestion.
PS2: Come on, veterans, do you know about those two revelations? In fact, one of them cannot be considered a shadow warrior.